Arthroscopy of the knee, which is also known as keyhole surgery of the knee, is recommended by knee or orthopaedic surgeons to provide relief to patients suffering from patello-femoral (knee-cap) disorders, articular cartilage injuries, anterior cruciate ligament injuries, inflammatory arthritis, and Baker's cysts. It may even be recommended to individuals with damaged or torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) or posterior cruciate ligament or swollen or damaged lining of the joint or if small pieces of broken cartilage are present in the knee joint; keyhole surgery of the knee may even be recommended by an orthopaedic surgeon for some fractures of the bones of the knee.
It is also worthwhile for you to note that Arthroscopy of the Knee is commonly recommended for trimming of torn pieces of articular cartilage, loose fragments of bone or cartilage, inflamed synovial tissue, torn anterior cruciate ligament, and removal or repair of torn meniscal cartilage.
Before the surgical procedure gets underway, you should stop taking aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), naproxen (Naprosyn, Aleve), and other medicines that may make it hard for the blood to clot. You may even be asked to cut down on the intake of alcohol or cigarettes and the surgeon may ask you about what medicines you are taking, including supplements, or herbs that you take with or without a prescription. If you have been suffering from cold, flu, fever, herpes breakout, or other illness or infection between the time the keyhole surgery of the knee was recommended to you and a few days before surgery, the same should be communicated to the knee surgeon.
The surgeon may ask you to take some medicines before coming for the surgical procedure and you should prefer wearing loose fitting clothing such as sweat pants and basketball shorts that can easily be pulled over the bulky bandage on the knee.
In this surgical procedure, inside of the joint is evaluated and treated by making use of surgical instruments that are placed into the joints through small incisions. The equipment for arthroscopy of the knee includes arthroscope and small surgical instruments for medical investigation purposes, cutting, or shaving tissues inside the knees. This surgical procedure is helpful in diagnosing the condition of the joints and confirming treatment for knee problems, including cartilage wear and meniscus tears. One of the biggest advantages of this keyhole surgery of the knee is that patients can easily maintain a normal and active lifestyle after undergoing the related surgical procedures.
After the surgical procedure has been successfully performed, you can expect to return to most physical activities after a period of six to eight weeks unless you have had a ligament reconstruction. The surgeon would help you with some light exercises to get back to normal life at the earliest without putting stress on the treated part(s).
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